• La empresa italiana que quiere venderle vagones al Metrorail de Miami-Dade es tema de dura crítica por parte de la prensa
MIAMI, 23 DE ENERO DE 2012, nhr.com—Siguen latente el temas de lacompra de vagones para el sistema Metrorail por parte del condado.
En el tema del conflictivo debate sobre a quién comprarle 136 vagones que hacen falta para el Metrorail, si a la empresa italiana AnsaldoBreda, o a la española-estadounidense CAF USA, existen dos artículos que no le hacen favor alguno a la firma italiana.
El primer artículo, publicado en Los Ángeles Times, se hace eco de los problemas que tuvo Breda con la venta de vagones para el tren en Los Ángeles. En dicho periódico, Tim Rutten escribió lo que sigue:
“On Thursday, barring some unforeseen event, one of the county’s longest-running public soap operas will come to an end when the Metropolitan transportation Authority’s board decides whether or not to extend an Italian company’s contract to build light-rail cars for the Gold and Expo lines.
AnsaldoBreda is a division of the Italian-based Finmeccanica conglomerate and manufactures and assembles rolling stock for rail systems around the world. It’s midway through a contract to build 50 cars for the L.A. transit agency and would like to see the agreement extended to include 100 more, a job worth $300 million. The problem is that the company is, by some estimates, three years behind in its delivery of the cars, and those that have arrived are 6,000 pounds overweight and incompatible with the MTA’s other light rail, though the agency has agreed to waive the latter requirement.”
El artículo califica de novelesca la compra de 100 vagones por $300 millones, y finaliza diciendo “el problema es que dicha compañía se encuentra atrasada en la entrega de los vagones en tres años y los que han llegado tiene sobrepeso en unas 6,000 libras”.
Un segundo artículo criticando a la compañía italiana salió a la luz pública en la revista especializada The Transport Politic. Éste afirma que los problemas de AnsaldoBreda no se limitan a Los Ángeles. Fue publicado hace dos años,comosigue:
“I reported yesterday on Los Angeles ’ problems with the light rail manufacturer it chose for its Gold Line Eastside Extension. Namely, the contractor, the Italian AnsaldoBreda, which also produced the city’s heavy rail cars in the early 1990s, is more than three years late on delivering the trains it promised. Los Angeles holds an option to purchase 100 more cars at a reduced rate, but Metro’s chief argues that the order for new vehicles should be put up to competitive bid. AnsaldoBreda’s response? An offer to build a manufacturing facility in L.A. , and a willingness to move its headquarters there. The problem? It has made the same offer to at least two other cities already. Facio Ficano, director of government affairs for the company, responded to criticism in the L.A. Times.”
“But Erik Griswold pointed me to some evidence thatL.A.’s experience isn’t isolated.Denmarkordered 83 trains from AnsaldoBreda in 2003; the trains were supposed to be fully operational by 2006. And yet the company hasn’t been able to fulfill its obligations. Only eight of the trains have been delivered, and according to the Copenhagen Post, ‘only three are operational, and all still have problems.’ The national rail company is likely to have to cancel the contract (and lose lots of money) unless AnsaldoBreda can manage to put together at least 14 vehicles by May.
I’d also like to note that back in 2005, the Washington Post reported extensively on problems with Washington Metro Breda vehicles. To put it bluntly, the company’s trains were significantly more likely to break down than those of other manufacturers in the fleet. Commenter martarider said in response to the last article that theBredacars inAtlanta“are lemons… [and] have been plagued with problems. ‘The Boston Globe reported in 2007 that Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’, officials have fumed over the years that it was their worst purchase ever,’ refering to a 1995 contract with AnsaldoBreda.
This company is making a bad name for itself. Transit agencies should stop buying their vehicles.”
El referido articulo después de explicar todos los problemas que han tenido con la compra, atrasos en la entrega y pérdida de fondos, termina diciendo que “esta compañía se ha hecho de un mal nombre y las agencias de tránsito deben parar de comprar sus vehículos.”
La recomendación que se entiende hace el alcalde del condado, Carlos Giménez, apoyando a AnsaldoBreda, es criticada fuertemente en el ayuntamiento condal y entre comentaristas del ambiente político local. “El error le pesará grandemente a Giménez, pero más aún a los bolsillos de los contribuyentes, que una vez más serán engañados”, señala un conocido vocero de departamento condal.
